Authentic Spanish Gazpacho

The authentic Spanish gazpacho is a cold soup made from tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers, and garlic, seasoned with olive oil, vinegar, and salt. As far as we're concerned, this is the only cold soup that can be labeled "gazpacho."

Directions

For the croutons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the bread in a large bowl. Coat with the olive oil and season with the salt. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spread the bread cubes on the cookie sheet, and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

For the soup

Place all of the ingredients in a blender (depending on the size of the jar, you may have to do it in several batches). Blend until smooth. Pour through a fine-meshed strainer to get rid of tomato and pepper skin and cucumber seeds. Chill for a couple of hours before serving. Serve the croutons on top of the gazpacho.

Spanish Shopping Tip

Spanish cuisine often uses less than ordinary ingredients like Spanish paprika, Spanish wine, and saffron. Be sure to have these on-hand before concocting your Spanish dishes.

Spanish Cooking Tip

Saffron is used for both color and flavor. Use the threads if you want colors, and use ground saffron threads if you are using for flavor.